Wednesday, May 13, 2015

New twist in Jeremy Thorpe murder plot scandal as police open fresh inquiry

An inquiry has been launched into claims that evidence was tampered with during the prosecution of the former Liberal Party leader Jeremy Thorpe, who stood trial in the 1970s accused of conspiring to murder a homosexual lover on Dartmoor.

Mr Thorpe, who died last year aged 85, had been accused of hiring a hitman to soot dead male model Norman Scott, who had alleged the pair were lovers.

The gunman, Andrew Newton, was said to have driven Mr Scott out to Dartmoor where he shot dead his Great Dane, Rinka, before attempting to kill him, but he was thwarted when the gun jammed.

Mr Thorpe, who was married at the time, was accused of having paid for the hit, in a desperate bid to silence Mr Thorpe.

He was eventually cleared by a jury at the Old Bailey but his glittering political career never recovered from the scandal.

But shortly after his death an antique firearms dealer called Dennis Meighan, who claimed he had originally been asked to carry out the hit, claimed his police statement had been altered.

Mr Meighan alleged that his police statement was doctored to remove any incriminating references to Mr Thorpe or the Liberal Party. (more...)